Sucking Up, by Clinediap

Chapter 4
Chapter 4

Chapter Description: by Clinediap

Alicia knocked lightly on Dr. Jadin’s door for a moment before peeking her head inside.

"Come on in, dear," Dr. Jadin told her with a smile. "Are you heading out to lunch?"

Alicia walked in, clutching her purse and nodding. "So, you’re planning on working through it?" She shook her head when her boss gave her the affirmative, though it was more for herself. If Dr. Jadin was leaving, she would take the chance of changing back into her other dress and having a quickie with Frank... But with the risk of Dr. Jadin popping out of her office at any moment and seeing her out of the outfit she’d chosen for her, she didn’t dare. She had to admit that this was really starting to seem like more trouble than it was worth.

"Do you want me to get you something?" she asked.

"Oh, that’s sweet of you," Dr. Jadin cooed. "No, I’ll order something."

"All right," Alicia nodded. "I might be a couple minutes late... I’m going to go shopping for some new clothes..."

Dr. Jadin brightened up, standing. "That’s great! I’m sure you feel much more comfortable like that, don’t you?"

"Y-Yeah..." Alicia tried her best to sound sincere, but couldn’t keep herself from squirming.

"I knew you would," Dr. Jadin nodded, getting her own purse. "Now, let me get you some money..."

"No, you don’t have to do that!" Alicia said, surprised. Sure, the woman had bought her clothes - even more than it had seemed the day before - and technically she was doing this for the money, but still, taking it directly from her felt a little too much like stealing.

"Don’t be like that," Dr. Jadin said sternly. "I know you don’t make a lot at your job, sweetie, and I can’t expect you to rebuild your wardrobe overnight on that. And, after all, you’re doing it for me, so I should help..."

"No," she shook her head, starting to feel guilty at just how readily and fully Dr. Jadin seemed to have taken to her new role. "I can’t..."

"Alicia! I am trying to give you a gift! Are you going to stand here and be ungrateful?"

Alicia shook her head, stepping back slightly. "N-No, I’m grateful, I just can’t..."

Dr. Jadin snatched Alicia’s purse out of her hands before the girl could stop her, then shoved a wad of cash at her in its place. "You can have this back," she said, "when you get back here with your new clothes. There’s enough there for you to grab a bite to eat, too."

"A-All right..." Alicia nodded finally, not sure what else to do.

"Good," Dr. Jadin said. "And Alicia?" Alicia turned back from the doorway. "Please don’t argue with me. I’ve been patient with you these past couple days, because I know you’re trying your best, but I simply can’t abide a child talking back to her mother. Do you understand?"

"I understand," Alicia replied, swallowing nervously.

Dr. Jadin’s mood lightened considerably. "Take all the time you need, dear. Don’t rush on my account. I don’t think I’ll have a lot for you to do this afternoon."

"Okay," Alicia said. "And thank you..."

Dr. Jadin didn’t reply, simply waved her off, like she was telling a child to go play, like there was nothing unusual about any of this. But to Alicia, standing there, still clasping the money, it was more than strange. She expected some light mentorship, Dr. Jadin taking her under her wing, looking out for her... She’d never expected the woman to take that whole "I see you as a mother figure" speech so literally. Now she was deciding what Alicia wore, right down to her underwear, and buying her things, and, unless she’d misread what just happened, threatening her with some kind of discipline if she talked back. Alicia had never imagined things going that way, and she couldn’t say that she really liked it... At least, the part that didn’t include having some new clothes, paid for with money that wasn’t hers.

But that other stuff... It wasn’t so bad, not really. The only thing that worried Alicia was that Dr. Jadin would get too attached to her, and wouldn’t want to let her go, but surely if she really did want the best for her, she’d want her to have a better position. After all, she’d just said she knew what crappy pay she got, and didn’t seem to approve. At the very least, she might get a healthy raise out of this, and that was worth dressing like a kid for a few days.

Grabbing one of her drinks from her desk, she headed out of the building, blushing as she saw the security guards did a double take as she walked by, as if trying to confirm that she really was the same woman they’d seen earlier. Alicia couldn’t blame them - she had a hard time believing it herself.

It was a nice day out, and she knew her destination wasn’t too far off, so, since she didn’t have a deadline for getting back, she decided to walk. After getting a sandwich, she headed to her favorite clothes store, feeling rather excited about the prospect of spending her lunch hour, and then some, there, and not having to worry about whether or not there was enough in her bank account to cover it. It was a lot like the feeling she’d gotten all those years ago, shopping with her parents to alleviate their guilt at putting her in the middle of their divorce, back before she really had to think about money.

She also started to get looks as soon as she walked in the door like the ones she was sure she would have gotten, had she been allowed to go shopping on her own back then. It didn’t help that she had to make herself go to the young adult section, to browse through the sorts of things she would have worn back when she was just starting high school. She figured that ought to be going back far enough for Dr. Jadin. She picked out a few outfits that didn’t seem too terrible, then added the total up on the calculator on her cell phone.

She smiled as she saw the number, comparing it to the amount in her pocket. The clothes she had should be enough to keep her going for a little while, she thought, and she could always do some mixing and matching. And go shopping again on her own dime, eventually, if she had to. So, as a reward to herself, she headed to the section of the store she usually shopped in, picking herself out some things she could wear on the weekend, at least until she got her promotion and moved away from Dr. Jadin’s desk.

It felt rather odd pulling the wad of bills from her pocket at the checkout counter, and she was sure the clerk was looking at her strangely, as if she were wondering if she was some kid who had stolen money from her mother’s purse, but she tried her best to ignore it. By the time she was back out on the sidewalk, she was feeling rather chipper again, walking back to work, swinging her nice, full shopping bags back and forth as she went.

She set them down next to her desk and knocked on Dr. Jadin’s door to let her know she was back, not expecting anything more than a, "Did you have a good lunch?" before she was herded back out. Instead, Dr. Jadin looked up at her and raised an eyebrow. "Well, where are they?"

"Oh, here," Alicia said, feeling a little embarrassed as she scurried to her boss’s desk, dropping off the change. "I wasn’t trying to keep it, I just..."

"No, I don’t care about that," Dr. Jadin told her impatiently. "Where are your new clothes?"

"They’re out by my desk," Alicia answered. "I..."

"Well, bring them in."

Alicia opened her mouth to protest, but the doctor was staring at her expectantly, as if she were being extraordinarily difficult about something quite normal. And, to be fair, she had paid for them. "Yes, ma’am," she nodded, making her way back out.

Quickly, she dug through the bags, wishing she could remember which one the outfit she’d gotten for herself was in. She didn’t dare take too long, in case Dr. Jadin got suspicious, so, after a few moments, she decided she’d just hope the woman got bored before making her way through all of the clothes. "Here they are!" she declared, plopping the bags down on Dr. Jadin’s desk.

Dr. Jadin pulled the first piece of clothing out, looked at it for a moment, then shook her head. "No," she said, setting it on her desk before moving on. "I don’t think so," she told that one. And so it went, as Alicia stood there, fidgeting, each denial making her feel worse and worse, that she had screwed up something so basic, something she’d always considered herself good at. She was pretty sure she couldn’t have felt worse if she’d actually messed up on an actual work assignment. By the time Dr. Jadin found the "grown-up" clothes, giving Alicia a haughty, "Really?", she almost wished the woman would get angry, yell at her, but she just seemed disappointed. Somehow, that was worse.

Finally, both bags empty, Dr. Jadin only shrugged. "I should have known better," she said, starting to put the clothes stacked neatly on her desk back into the bags. "Clearly, you don’t understand what I’m trying to teach you yet."

The words were gentle, yet they stung like a slap to the face. "I-I tried..." Alicia sniffled, a little shocked at herself for feeling so upset.

"It’s not your fault," Dr. Jadin told her soothingly. "You’re a smart girl, but it’s only been a couple of days. You just don’t get it yet. Nobody would. Don’t worry, I’ll take care of it for you. Now, I want you to run back to the store and return these."

"What?" Alicia looked up, surprised.

"Well, you can’t wear these. What good would it do to keep them?"

"I-I guess," Alicia conceded, "But..."

"Are you arguing with me?" Alicia shook her head quickly, remembering the conversation they’d had earlier, not wanting to find out what the woman had meant by that. "That’s what I thought. Now get going."

"Yes, ma’am," Alicia sighed, picking the bags back up and retreating from the office like a thoroughly scolded child. To her shock, as she stood in the elevator, waiting for it to take her to the ground floor, she felt tears sliding down her face, real ones this time. She couldn’t believe she was crying over this, but at the same time, she couldn’t stop herself as she practically ran past the security desk, out to the sidewalk.

By the time she got back to the store, her reflection in their display window showed her as an upset little girl, make-up smudged and running. She sniffed, rubbing her face, but that just made it worse. She made her way to the return counter as quickly as she could, trying to keep her face down as the employee asked her why she was bringing all of this back, turning bright red as she saw the girl who had rung her out earlier walk by, praying she didn’t see her. She knew she must look like she’d been caught, having stolen her mother’s money, and was now being forced to bring it all back. And in a way, that was almost the truth. After all, it wasn’t her money.

Much as she wanted to, she didn’t dare to keep the one outfit she really liked, afraid Dr. Jadin had looked at the receipt and knew exactly how much she should be getting back. As soon as she had the money back in hand, she hurried to the store’s bathroom to wash her face, having to get all of her make-up off to keep it from looking so obvious that she’d just been crying. She reached for her purse on the counter beside the sink, where she normally set it, to reapply at least some of her make-up, but, of course, it wasn’t there.

She hoped that Dr. Jadin wouldn’t notice, that her luck would change. When she went back in to give her money back, however, and have her purse returned, Dr. Jadin was ecstatic. "Oh, you look wonderful! You’re so beautiful naturally, sweetie, I don’t know why you use so much make-up... And look at those freckles! Why would you cover those up?"

Alicia clenched her fists, gritting her teeth. It was all she could do not to just tell Dr. Jadin that this was one step too far, that she’d had enough. Somehow, she managed to find the strength to smile and mutter, "Why don’t I try to go without it tomorrow?"

"Perfect!" Dr. Jadin gushed. "See? You are getting some of this! I told you, it just takes time!"